I remembered that Episode Four was the big flurry of action/violence also in Season One, so I ended up watching it over again for shits/giggles and man, it is stark how much better that season was than this one. It almost makes me wonder if HBO will even bother to renew it, which would have been unthinkable for me before this season started.

losing my patience with this season. Shit is going no where. Started to think over this past weekend....if this season doesn't change, it could be the most drastic drop off from 1 amazing first season to such a clunker of a second season. I couldn't even think of something to compare too.

I actually thought the two month jump forward propelled the story unlike we've seen yet this season, making it the best episode yet, following what was the best episode up to that point before it. Still it is a bit ridiculous that Ray had to beat-up/kill(?) Rick Springfield's doctor to figure out that Caspere was black-mailing high society types via the sex-parties and that the Mayor/Mayor's son are also knee-deep in it.

They also telegraphed that those Mexicans Frank turned away at the bar are going to cause BIG problems for him. It's weird how obvious and clumsy thing are this season after the first was so subtle and subversive.

Wikipedia says HBO signed Nic Pizzolatto to a two-year extension after the first season's episode debuted, so apparently we'll get another season of this unless HBO decides to completely bury it, which I guess is their prerogative.

The new season of Ray Donovan has started out pretty strong at least...

I feel asleep about 20 minutes into last nights episode...but the exchange between Collin Farrell and Vince Vaughn early on was antic climactic to say the least. What was expected to be some kind of important moment in the series was a meh letdown.

Personally, I'd give the Purple Heart to Vaughn. He has made his character semi-believable and sympathetic in spite of the corny character development and dialogues.

I'm thinking it more a case of them striking lightning in a bottle with MacConguhey and Harrellson in the first season with their long discussions and Pizzolatto shot his wad in the first season. You hear a lot of bands cite that you have your entire life to write your first album, and then comes the hard part with trying to repeat/beat it in six-twelve months after that with your second album. And so on...

Yeah, the band analogy is well put. I like they didn't try to be like the last season.....But they could've tried a little. There are some comparisons, but I just didn't find the Illuminati sex party all that shocking when the 1st season had that video tape of the pagan swamp cult.

Yeah, it was a complete stinker. Appropriate, as how the series had gone up to that point. The momentum and (somewhat) decent eps #6 & 7 gave me some false hope for the finale, but it ended about as contrived and corny as it deserved to.